Thai Library Association Fosters Strong Partnerships Among Librarians to Achieve SDGs Through Community-Focused Services

The Thai Library Association (TLA), in collaboration with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), hosted a three-day hands-on workshop on “Measurement, Evaluation, and Demonstrating Impact of Library Services in Thailand” to enhance librarians and library workers with knowledge and skills in managing activities/projects for community support to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The workshop was held during 28-30 August 2025 at the Office of Thai Library Association, Bangkok, Thailand. Having Dr. Premila Gamage, IFLA’s Impact Trainer, as a guest speaker, Thai librarian participants were provided with valuable knowledge about a framework and tools to strengthen the capacity of libraries in planning for impactful projects through community engagement. This workshop was attended by 22 participants from different types of libraries countrywide such as academic, public, school and special libraries.

The workshop began with a welcome address by Sataramedhi Suwakhon Siriwongworawat, President of TLA, focusing on the benefits that participants would gain from the workshop in terms of library’s roles to support community needs while having a good opportunity to grow and learn together in a sharing environment. The three-day workshop was run and divided into 5 modules: Measurement — identifying framework and tools for planning, performance measurement, and communities assessment and needs; Evaluation — providing knowledge and skills in impact evaluation of the planned activities; and Demonstration — demonstrating impact of library services via evidence-based storytelling.

Dr. Premila Gamage provided opportunities for attendees to participate interactively through idea sharing, presentations, and group discussions, allowing them to learn from one another’s experiences and better understand the scenarios through examples and Q&A sessions. On the second and third days, participants were more familiar with the sharing process and proposed their ideas concerning the issues of impact indicators and evaluation methods after the trainer emphasized this process as essential evidence of the meaningful impacts of the projects. At the end of service delivery process, libraries should create meaningful change for the betterment of their targeted communities. Therefore, effective planning and evaluation were essential for impactful outcomes that serve the needs of stakeholders. Finally, the success story of these projects should be publicized, and the technique recommended in this workshop was storytelling. Dr. Premila Gamage also suggested TLA to act as a country hub for Thai librarians in sharing these success stories of SDGs achievement to the public.

The workshop ended with the closing ceremony and certification award with the promises between TLA and participants to bring knowledge and skills gained from this learning into implementation. In this regard, TLA would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to IFLA for encouraging Thai librarians to create more community-involved projects in such a systematic approach.

Feedback

Participants also expressed their impressions of this workshop, as shown in these following thoughtful dialogues below:

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“This workshop provided me with new knowledge and experiences in developing library service projects, which required careful consideration from the beginning, namely, exploring the needs of users/stakeholders to be used as inputs for project development and design of activities. We have to understand the context of community’s involvement with library, which is also related to evaluation methods that should identify activity-based and impact-based indicators. Personally, I enjoy the way that the Speaker asked us some questions about data collection, statistics to be used in the project, and evaluation, or how to evaluate the outcomes of each activity because we have to think or focus more on our target audience, or the library community. This allows us to review past activities or projects of which some points may be ignored or needed to be revised or improved before planning the next one.

Throughout the three-day training, Dr. Premila Gamage, the speaker, always encouraged us in sharing knowledge via discussions on each topic. This allowed participants to reflect and rethink about the process in planning new projects or activities, like the way we conducted pretesting and presented our ideas for public hearing. Therefore, we could learn interesting activities and projects from each group, such as promoting the use of e-books by teachers in schools, organizing an exhibition on Ghost Power, and encouraging   waste management in the library. At the end of the workshop, the speaker also shared us the importance of storytelling, to publicize the success story of the projects as an evidence-based approach for successful project implementation. This can be a good example for others to learn and further create new activities or projects in the future. I would like to thank Dr. Premila Gamage and TLA for organizing this excellent workshop, which is very useful and can be applied to library work or teaching and learning in the field of librarianship.”

Kanokwan Buangam

Librarian/Thammasat University Library

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“Participating in the IFLA Training Workshop: Measurement, Evaluation and Demonstrating Impact of Library Services, organized by TLA, was an intellectually enriching and rewarding experience. Over the course of three intensive days, I gained valuable insights into international perspectives, practical tools, and evidence-based approaches for assessing and demonstrating the value of library services.

The program was thoughtfully structured, integrating theoretical frameworks with practical case studies that can be directly applied in professional practice. I was particularly impressed by the collaborative learning environment fostered throughout the workshop. Engaging with colleagues from diverse institutions provided meaningful exchanges of ideas, which not only broadened my professional perspective but also inspired innovative strategies for enhancing library services in my own context.

This workshop reaffirmed the essential role of measurement and evaluation in demonstrating the relevance and impact of libraries in today’s rapidly evolving information landscape. The knowledge and skills acquired will strengthen my capacity to employ evidence-based practices and to advocate more effectively for the value of libraries in advancing education, research, and community engagement.”

Pongsakorn Sukanya

Librarian / Panyananthaphikkhu Chonprathan Medical Center, Srinakharinwirot University

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“The workshop on measuring, evaluating, and demonstrating the impact of library services was a very worthwhile experience for me. I was able to learn about tools for project evaluation, careful thought, and planning in accordance with project goals and objectives. Thanks to Dr. Premila Gamage, the speaker. The introductions of the knowledge and assessment instruments are great models for future use. Additionally, these tools can be incorporated into Library and Information Science courses, allowing students to use them in projects involving the creation of prototype innovations in library services.”

Dr.Thiti Atichartchayakorn

Lecturer / Srinakharinwirot University

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“My impression of this training is that it was my first time participating in an IFLA workshop. I really appreciated the speaker and all participants who shared their knowledge with great dedication and incorporated engaging training techniques. There were also group activities that allowed interaction with other participants. In addition to gaining knowledge, the workshop provided an opportunity to connect with fellow librarians and to meet the executives of TLA. This is my first training session at the TLA and I feel truly impressed.”

Assistant Professor Preedee Pluemsamrungit  

Lecturer / Ramkhamhaeng University

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“I gain valuable knowledge on the Logic Model and have a great chance to practice the skills of measurement, evaluation, and demonstrating the impact of library services. Several case studies taught us specific details.  This enjoyable learning is beneficial for me.”

Assistant Professor Dr.Duangkaew Ngernpoolsap

School of Liberal Arts, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University  (STOU)

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“What I like about this workshop is the way we learn with participatory roles. All attendees have a great chance to speak and tell about library service activities in Thailand, in the context of community support or the essential libraries’ roles for community development in order to fulfill the SDGs. The best of the course that I like most is we learned how to present our works or tell our success stories with evidence-based approach and the trainer also recommended us to join hands together among libraries in Thailand in storytelling of our successful works. Making the most of this, TLA can play a great role as a national hub for sharing the activities of libraries in Thailand in fulfilling the sustainable development goals worldwide.”

Dr.Narumol Ruenwai

Executive Committee Member of Thai Library Association (TLA)/Thai Special Libraries Group (TSLG)

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“Thank you to the TLA for organizing this wonderful event. I am glad I had an opportunity to exchange knowledge closely with librarians from various types of libraries in Thailand. The sharing topics are very useful too, for instance, management, planning, and design of activities/projects for community. In this regard, we also learned about needs analysis, as well as measurement and evaluation, together with examples of activities and projects to be implemented. This is very beneficial to the development of activities in public libraries, encouraging us to move forwards with quality work and projects. Moreover, it was a pleasure to be trained by the speaker from such a world-class library organization like IFLA.  I also enjoyed the friendly atmosphere among our librarians who participated in this course and we could share a common vision and goals of libraries for community development under SDGs with Thai library organization.”

Yuttana Aiyaraprote

Librarian, Senior Professional Level, Uttaradit Public Library,

Uttaradit Provincial Office of Learning Encouragement

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“In this workshop, I learned about how to conduct storytelling of the successful projects that our libraries could organize for the profits of the community. In the storytelling process, we must identify the important role of libraries and communicate the value we created. However, these projects need to be well-designed, measured and evaluated in terms of outputs, performance and outcomes. This could help increase understanding of the value of libraries, promoting good collaboration between users and community. The workshop also encourages us to exchange ideas via sharing our experiences among each group. The ideas and comments obtained, therefore, could be used for developing next projects in the future.”

Dowrat Tanrat

Librarian, Rangsit University Library (RSU)

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“Thank you for organizing this workshop. I learned so much, especially about community-led planning and measurement methods, which will help me better understand communities and design activities that truly meet their needs. I also gained useful techniques on how to create meaningful evidence to support advocacy with stakeholders. What I also really appreciate is that this workshop gave me the chance to connect with librarians from different types of libraries and other LIS professionals, where we could gather, share experiences, and exchange techniques for managing our projects.”

Linda Puechsee

Librarian, National Library of Thailand

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“I believe that this workshop has significantly enhanced my capacity to design activities and projects that are strategically aligned with the target groups of the National Library of Thailand in an effective and systematic manner.”

Amphika Nanthikanjana

Librarian, National Library of Thailand

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“This workshop taught me about the Community-centered logic model as a framework for measuring, evaluating, and demonstrating the impact of libraries. It taught me to focus on the specific issues of planning library projects or activities at every step, from surveying community & needs to planning projects, and then creating projects or activities that focus on the results, including outputs, outcomes, and impact, so that I can apply them in planning library projects or activities that genuinely address community needs and have a positive social impact.”

Kessini Phiwoon,

Librarian, National Library of Thailand

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“Fundamental knowledge of the IFLA framework and measurement is cultivated to all participants. We have learned how to adopt a community-based center approach that can be practically integrated into our daily routines. This approach will enable us to move forward with our strategic opportunities and goals. We now have a new set of challenging plans to pursue fruitful outcomes and impacts on each project’s planning. Thanks to the TLA, we have established a new chain of library-community connections in this workshop. We also sincerely hope to spread some SDGs’ news using evidence-based storytelling on the IFLA platform in the near future. Thank you very much for broadening our horizons and inspiring us with our vision and mission.”

Phimonphan Wong-aram

Deputy Director of Central Library for Strategic Planning and Corporate Development, Silpakorn University

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“From this training, I have learned about measurement, evaluation, and organizing community-oriented activities to address the SDGs for sustainable learning. I have also gained knowledge about planning using the logic model as a tool to understand how we can respond to community needs in order to create impact for the development of the quality of life for people.”

Jarinya Limmun

Librarian, Practitioner Level, Sanamchandra Palace Library, Silpakorn University

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“In this workshop, I had an opportunity to practice, and also develop my English skills, presentation skills, and activity planning skills. I gained new knowledge from the trainer on measurement, evaluation, and demonstrating the impact of library services through the five modules she had prepared, such as identifying the community, evidence-based storytelling, writing output and outcome indicators. I also had a chance to know more new people whowork in the same or related fields as me and I got many interesting new ideas from them.

Sasiwimon Chatchawal

Librarian, Tha Phra Palace Library, Silpakorn University

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“The trainer explained the content clearly and also gave examples such as Community-Centered Logic Model, allowing us to gain concepts and processes for effective measurement and evaluation. Furthermore, from this workshop, I learned how to plan a project effectively by defining the activity and community/target group needs to be clear and defining measurable objectives. I also learn how to write effective indicators. All of knowledge from this workshop provides a good foundation that can be applied in our work.

Pattraporn Duangsin

Academic Officer, Practitioner Level, the Central Library of Silpakorn University

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Suwakhon Siriwongworavat                                                                         

President of Thai Library Association

I would like to express my deepest thanks to Dr. Premila Garmesh, who provides this excellent training and all of us have learned a lot about the Measurement, Evaluation and Demonstrating.  Impact of Library Services in Thailand. The knowledge we gain is very valuable and we promise that we will make it possible by implementing what we have learned.

Next steps

In the near future, TLA is planning to organize this kind of workshop for librarians, paraprofessionals and library workers in Thailand. The curriculum will cover the five modules of the impact of library services according to the framework recommended by IFLA that focuses on library roles to achieve sustainable development goals of Thailand. TLA executive committees have discussed launching this event in collaboration with diverse types of libraries registered as a Library Group under TLA, for example, public, academic, school, special libraries, and etc. We believe this project could enhance knowledge and skills of participants in managing activities and demonstrating the value and impact of libraries in Thailand in the long run.

Contributed by:

Narumol Ruenwai, Dr.,Public Relations, Thai Library Association

Namtip Wipawin, Prof.Dr.,Vice President, Thai Library Association

Suchit Suvaphab, Vice President, Thai Library Association